Detachable plug.



.clean contact connection with the contact.

CLARENCE D. PLATT, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

'DETACHAELE PLUG.

'Specioation of Letters Patent.

Patented npr. 5, i910.

.Application tiled June 26, 1909. Serial No. 504,404.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it-knovvn that l, CLARENCE D. PLATT, a citizenof the UnitedStates,vand,a resident of iBridgeport, in the county of Fairfield andState (if-Connecticut, have invented certain newand useful improvementsin Detachable illugs, of V7which lthe following is fa full., clear, andexact description, -Whereby anyone skilled inthe art may make and usethe saine.

The invention relates to detachable plugs. That is, a device which isutilized ,for connecting `a distributing ,point ot an electrical systemWithany desired translating device wherein thcielectric current isvto beused.

@The objects-of the invention arelto provide a very simple .and compactdevice which may be lreadily attached to or rcmoved .from the receptaclecontaining the contacts for electrical distribution.

A further objectistogprovidea plug., in' `which the body portion,`vvhicli-naakes a suitablecontactaviththe terminal Wires throughwelliknown devices, may beinserted and lett :in place, .and the capportion connecting with the, distributing wires maybeireinovedorinserted at -vvill and Withoutiliability ot undue arcing or rupture ofthe parts.

zstill 'further object is to provideia body lportieri :for insertionWithin the receptacle intwhichfthe contact parts are arranged withisolated chambers completely protected and in themain body portiomavith.suitable confleeting channels tor-the insertion ot' the. cooperatingplng; members.

A still further object, is to arrange a body portion having 4a centralstudicontact and a ythreaded sleeve contact .arranged yfor con-:nectionwith a receptacle wherein the sleeve contact is readilyremovable and will insure clips and conductorsot-tlie plug,

:Referringito tliciliraivings: Figure l.is aview in elevation. of thedevice with a portion ot the conducting shell broken .awaytoillustratethei position of one otnthecoutact members. Eig. 2de .acentral sectional view ofI the cap member. off the i plugv with itsycontacts. Eig. Biisa bottoni plan-view ofthe cap shown in eilig. 2. Fig.4t is a top plan view ofthe main body'portion ofithe plug. lfig. 5 isacentral vertical section thro-ugh theplug and contact chambers. Fig. Gisia bottom plan view offthmplug illustrated in Fig. 5. Fig. ,7 is lageneral view offthecap and ibody portion, the latter cutinsection andillustrating the contact-membersinfierspective, removed from thc .bodyportion; the parts :illustrating the method ofassem- .bling andoperating the device.

,in devices of the class hereinafter described, certain features arerequired, to make the devices safe y:t'or operation andthe conductanceof current.indistribution systems. flfirst ot' all, the parts must-be soarranged .that they may be securely attached Withrefyerence tothe linewire circuits of a receptacle. These reccptaclesmaybc either of the Wellknown Edison type or Thomson Houston type, butithe plug member, in any:instance, must malte secure contact with 'the contacts of thereceptacles. .The -removable lcap must ,also tbe provided with contactswhich, coperatingwith the contact-s of the body port-ion of the plug,insure proper-ele@ trical connection, Without liability of undue arcing,short circuits, and .the lilre. .The cap vmember or vremovable vportionof @the plug innstbe so formed as tobeireadily inserted. orrenioved'froin the body! of the plug, in order to provide Vfor quick-adjustability and permit the use of. oapsand contact inem` bersconnected with varionstranslating devices.

-It is onc of the principalfobjects ofthe ,presentinventioiu toarrangeall Otthesevcral conducting parte, ofthe device, iii-such Imanner, thatthey may ibe simply iformed and. assembled .andfwill insureproperfaction within reasonable limits of safety.

.In the accompanying drawings :the nu- .meral l, denotes themainbody'portion of ltheplug, vwhich isy provided -with v,a central studcontact?, and athreaded sleeveieontact 3, as isclearly.illustrated inFig 5. {he body portion preferably has a linnn-led head to :facilitatesorewingtlierbody portion into and out of the receptacle containing thenecessary line wire connections to cooperate Withtheccntral stud contactand threaded sleeve contact.

The maint body portion, belowtheilrnnrled head, is recessed, providingcontact chambers e, 5, and thevexterior of the body portion is threaded.as at 6,'to receive the threads of the threaded sleeve contaet 3.

The recess 4, through an opening 7, provides -receptafclet'or a. springcontact naember-8, preferably of .substantiallyi U-form or withtwoeleaves between .whicli-tlie contact ,member of the removable eap i,may be 'rictionally held and locked andiwithasintable base-extension 9,which may be electrically connected with the central stud con tact 2. Asshown herein, the contact party 10, is formed with beveled edges to fitwithin a beveled opening 11, at the end of the body part and is securedin place and electrically connected with the contact clip 8, by a screwstud 12.

The recess of the body part is formed to receive a similar contact clipto coperate with the second contact member of the removable cap. Asshown herein, this contact clip is of substantially U-forin with twoupwardly extending arms 13, .14, the latter having a sharp bend 15,which provides a shoulder below which the cooperating contact of the capwill automatically lock. It

also provided with a spring contact meinber 16, of curved form whichwill tit within the threads of the threaded shell vContact 3, and bearfirmly against said shell. It has a double function of exerting a springlocking pressure against a shell to prevent accidental movement and atthe same time insurcs a bright, clean contact for its contact clip, asthe shell is screwed over it. lt will be noted that no screws or otherbinding means are necessary for holding this spring contact in place andits resiliency and locking features with reference to the coperatingcontact member is always insured.

The upper surface of the body part is slightly dishcd as at 16a, andcontracted openings 17, 18, connect the upper surface of the body partwith the chambers 4, and 5, and act as guides for the contact members19, 20, of the removable cap portion of the plug. The dished portion 16,serves as a guide for insuring insertion of the contact members 19, 20,within the openings 17, 18, inasmuch as, said members, may be placedagainst the cap in almost any position, and by a partial rotation willengage said openings 17, 18. A slight thrust of the cap through saidopenings will cause the contacts 19, 20, to be pressed between theupwardly extending arms of the contact clip where, through the shoulders15 and 23, they will be firmly engaged and locked by lugs 21, 22, whichare preferably pressed out of the metal of the contact members 19, 20.These locking lugs 21, 22, serve to separate the leaves of the contactmembers of the plug when inserted and have the added function ofpreventing accidental movement and separation of the parts. The contactclip 8, which connects with the central stud contact, has a lockingshoulder 23, substantially identical information with the lockingshoulder 15.

The under side of the cap 1a, has a recess 24, within which are securedconductors 25, 26, provided with wire-attaching means 27, 28, to whichthe line wires may be connected. The cap is also provided with a centrall opening 29, through which the line wire conl nections may extend. Ofcourse, the conductors 425, 26, have the projecting contact members 19,20, suitably secured thereto or formed integral therewith, and theconductors are held to the ca-p by suitable means suoll as screws 30,31.

ln addition to the frictional means of the spring leaf 16, forpreventing relative rotation of the threaded sleeve contact 3, and bodyportion, grooves or notches 32, 33, may be formed`in the body part to.be engaged by lugs 34, 35, pressed in from the 1 material of thethreaded shell 3.

The device is so formed that the insulated base-piece or body part andcap may be united or separated at will and always provide properelectrical contacts between the contact clips of the body part and thecap. The chambers, for receiving the contact clips, of the body part,are formed in the side of the tubular body and are connected with thedished guide-portion 16, through the contracted openings 17, 18.Obviously, the contact clips may be readily inserted or removed from thebody part upon removal of the threaded sleeve contact and the variousparts of the device maybe readily assembled without the use ofspecialtools. The contracted openings 17, 18, are of just sutiicientsize to permit passage of the cap contacts 19, 20, and 'as the chambers4, and 5, containing the contact clips are isolated from the surface ofthe plug except through the contracted openings. What little arcingoccurs in the chambers is not appreciable to the user and can do noserious damage. Obviously, the device might be changed as to its severaldetails to a considerable eX- tent without departing from the spirit orintent of the invention.

1t will be noted that no metallic parts eX- tend through the uppersurface of the body part. In fact, there are no metallic elements withinreach of the user when the body part is inserted in a receptacle, exceptthe cap contacts 19, 20, which, of course, are electrically inactiveuntil the cap has been forced down upon the base piece or body part 1.Therefore, there is absolutely no liability of improper use of thedevice, and all danger of shocks to the ur is obviated.

1rWhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis 1. A detachable plu comprising a single piece insulating bo y portionhaving a thread upon its exterior, recesses extending into the sides ofthe body portion and forming chambers for contact devices, a contactclip mounted in one of said recesses and connected with a central studcontact passing through the end of the body portion, and a contact cliphaving a spring contact finger arranged in the other of said recessesand contacting with a threaded shell Contact,

@senos said shell ada ted to be screwed over the surface of the bodyportion.

2. A detachable plug comprising a single piece insulated body portionhaving recesses therein, contact clips located in said recesses, acentral stud contact and a threaded sleeve contactoperatively arrangedupon the body portion and connecting respectively With Contact clipsarranged Within the recesses of the body portion, said threaded sleeveContact being screwed upon said body portion and acting as a closure forthe contact recesses and as a retainer for one of said contact clips,and contracted guide-openings extending through the body portion fromthe upper side thereof and connecting with the contact recesses. Y

3. In a detachable plug comprising an insulating body having contactrecesses formed in the sides thereof, a threaded sleeve contactencircling said body and the contact recesses, and forming one of thecontacts of the plug, and a contact clip arranged in one of the recessesand provided with a contact- I inw part adapted to yieldinely enUaOe andbebheld in place by the threanded slgeie contact, a central studcontact, and a contact i i l y l l i l i clip arranged in one of therecesses and with I an extended portion adapted to engage the i centralstud contact.

5. A detachable plug comprising a body part of insulating materialhaving contact recesses formed in the sides thereof, a threaded sleevecontact adapted to be screwed over the end of the body art, and acontact clip operatively arranged) in the contact recess and With acontact linger engaging the threads of the threaded sleeve.

6. A detachable plug comprising a body portion having contact recessesformed in the sides thereof, a threaded sleeve contactadapted to bescrewed over the end of the body part, and a Contact clip operativelyarranged in the contact recess and with a spring contacting memberengaging the threads of the threaded sleeve.

CLARENCE D. PLLTT. Witnesses:

T. MERLE SHAW, Dow R. Banen.

